Welcome to CEHS

The Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services is committed to quality teaching, outreach and research. It is home to eight departments. Graduate and undergraduate programs are strengthened by an on-campus elementary school and three stand-alone centers. These offer services to the community and provide students with real-world service and research opportunities. Additional community services are provided by the individual departments.

CEHS graduate programs are ranked best in the state and 26th in the nation among colleges of education, according to U.S. News and World Report.

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Office of Research Services

The mission of the Office of Research Services in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services is to enrich the research climate in the college by supporting proposal development; providing statistical consulting services; providing methodological training for graduate students; and nurturing faculty and graduate student research and collaboration.

Praxis Testing Information

Important Praxis® Updates

Webinar Schedule for Teacher Candidates

ETS offers free live webinars to help candidates succeed as they prepare for teacher licensure. These webinars offer in-depth information, study plan examples and the opportunity to ask questions. Topics include test overviews, free resources for test preparation and tips for reducing test anxiety. Registration opens approximately two weeks prior to the webinar date, and we encourage candidates to participate and register early.

Please go to the link below to obtain current Praxis assessment information.

Praxis Test Fees

Effective July 1, 2005, the Utah State Office of Education (USOE) now requires all graduates of teacher education programs to submit test score documentation of a USOE approved content-area exam in order to satisfy USOE Level I educator licensure requirements. The USOE has established this testing requirement to meet the Federal No Child Left Behind “highly qualified status” requirement. This content test requirement also helps meet other national standards (e.g., Federal Title II legislation - Higher Education Act) to demonstrate teacher competence. The USOE has contracted with Educational Testing Services (ETS) to administer their Praxis II: Subject Assessments to fulfill this testing requirement. All teaching majors/minors now have approved ETS Praxis II content tests; however, some tests have not completed the complete standard setting process so a Utah “pass rate” has not yet been established. Please check the current Utah State University listing of USOE approved Praxis II content tests that is provided below to determine which Praxis II content test you should take.

Utah State University’s Council on Teacher Education (composed of members from several academic departments representing Elementary, Secondary, Special Education, etc.) as well as representatives from ASUSU, Utah superintendents, Utah Education Association, and the Utah State Office of Education met on March 19, 2007 and issued the following updated policy for Praxis II testing at Utah State University.

Effective July 1, 2007, all Utah State University teacher education candidates will be required to take and pass the Praxis II content exam approved by the Utah State Office of Education (USOE) in their major content(s) area prior to student teaching. In addition, USU teacher education candidates will be required to take the USOE approved Praxis II content exam in their minor/endorsement content area prior to student teaching if their minor/endorsement content area has been identified as a NCLB core content area (English, Reading or Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Foreign Languages, Civics and Government, Economics, Arts, History, or Geography). A passing score will not be required in the minor/endorsement area prior to student teaching but will be required prior to USU recommendation for educator licensure. Teacher candidates will not be allowed to begin their student teaching until verification of their major content test score has been received. Students must provide documentation of their Praxis II content test scores as soon as it is available to their departmental Student Teaching Office who will then forward this testing documentation to USU’s Office of Graduation, Educator Licensing and Accreditation. Student test scores will be added to USU’s Teacher Education database.

What Praxis II content tests are currently approved by the Utah State Office of Education?

The following listing of tests identifies the specific Educational Testing Service (ETS) Praxis II Content Tests that have been approved by the Utah State Office of Education for specific majors/minors/endorsements. Please carefully review this matrix so that you take the correct content test which has been approved for your major/minor/endorsement area(s). This matrix also provides information about the specific testing schedule, test fee, and Utah cutoff score, if one has been established. If no Utah cutoff score exists, approval for student teaching and Utah licensure will still be processed. If students take the Praxis exam and a Utah cutoff score has not been established, they will receive a “Pending” for their NCLB “highly qualified status” until the Utah cutoff score has been established. Please feel free to call our office at 435-797-1443 or email Francine Johnson at francine.johnson@usu.edu if you have any questions or concerns.

How will I receive the results of my test scores? How long will it take before I receive my test scores?

ETS score reports are received by email approximately one month after the testing date. Once you receive your test scores please save them to your computer and make a copy of your composite or overall scores AND your subscores. Please submit these scores to your teaching major’s Office of Student Teaching – Elementary Education, Secondary Education, or Special Education. Remember, you must take and pass your major content test prior to student teaching.

One important point – at the present time, ETS will only keep your complete score report – composite and subscores for only four months. If you request an additional score sheet beyond a four-month period, ETS will only have your composite scores available, and you will be charged $40.

What Praxis II Contest Tests do I take if I have a dual teaching major?

Utah educator licensure requires the taking and passing of at least one Utah State Board of Education approved assessment, which usually is a Praxis content test. In addition, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires Praxis content tests in each of its core content areas which are English, Reading or Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Foreign Languages, Civics and Government, Economics, Arts, History, or Geography.

Thus if a student completes a dual major in two NCLB core content areas, e.g., English and History, he/she must take and pass the Praxis content test in both English and History. If a student’s dual major includes only one NCLB core content areas, e.g., Spanish and Sociology, he/she would be required to take and pass the Praxis content test in the NCLB core content area which is Spanish. However, if a student’s dual major involves two non-NCLB core content areas, e.g., Physical Education and Health, he/she must take and pass one Praxis content test, but he/she may choose which Praxis test he/she would like to take.

What is the Praxis II Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) Test and am I required to take it?

The Principles of Learning and Teaching Tests (PLT) are not content tests but rather focus on teaching pedagogy – e.g., philosophies of teaching, classroom management, lesson planning, assessment of student learning, communication techniques, students as learners, etc.

The PLT test must be taken and passed to receive your Utah Level 2 teaching license. Graduates who have received their Level 1 teaching license will have 3 years (Entry Year Experience) to fulfill the requirements to receive their Level 2 teaching licensing. The requirements to receive your Level 2 teaching license are:

Mentoring (experienced educator provides support)

Passing the appropriate Praxis Principles of Learning and Teaching Test; 160 has been identified as a qualifying score

USU teacher education students are NOT required to take the PLT prior to graduation; but we STRONGLY RECOMMEND students take this exam during their student teaching experience.

There are two reasons why USU is encouraging students to take this exam prior to graduation.

The USU’s Departments of Elementary Education, Secondary Education, and Special Education have reviewed the content of these exams and have found that all the material has been covered in their levels that students take prior to student teaching. Thus, if students take this exam during their student teaching, this content will be more recent than waiting to take this exam during your first three years of teaching.

Students who take and pass this exam will greatly enhance their marketability in obtaining a teaching position. Districts will be more inclined to employ a teacher who has met all their testing requirements – content testing (highly qualified) and PLT (Level 2 licensure).